Obama Orders Increased Pay Raise for Civilian Feds

Obama sent a letter to Congress last week directing all agencies to give employees a 2.1 percent pay raise in fiscal 2017.

This small increase would put civilian agency employee pay on par with Defense Department (DoD) employees.

This new order supplants the Nov. 29 pay raise of 1.6 percent that included locality pay.

“In my Aug. 31, 2016, submission of an alternative plan for base pay increases, I stated that the alternative plan for locality payments would be limited so that the total combined cost of the 1.0 percent across-the-board base pay increase and the varying locality pay increases would be 1.6 percent of basic payroll, consistent with the assumption in my 2017 Budget,” Obama wrote in the letter to Congress. “However, in light of the decision of Congress to provide a 2.1 percent pay increase for military personnel in 2017 and reconsideration of current and projected economic conditions, I have concluded it would be appropriate to revise my original alternative plan for locality payments so that the total combined cost of the 1.0 percent across-the-board base pay increase and varying locality payments will be 2.1 percent of basic payroll. Thus, under the revised alternative plan, the varying locality pay increases will generate costs of 1.1 percent of basic payroll.”

Just a day after Washington, D.C. area Democratic members of Congress wrote to Obama asking for a higher raise for civilian workers, he sent this letter to Congress.

Congress already approved a pay increase for DoD employees in the 2017 Defense Authorization bill that received final approval Dec. 8 and now is headed to Obama for his signature, reports Federal News Radio.

While Congress was uncertain if Obama would sign the NDAA after threats of vetoing the bill, this new pay directorate makes it seem likely he will sign the bill.

“We appreciate the efforts of those in Congress and the Administration for making this change and providing this slightly larger increase, which reflects pay parity for federal and military employees. Federal workers deserve this recognition,” said Tony Reardon, national president of the National Treasury Employees Union in a statement.

The American Federation of Government Employees also praised Obama’s decision.

“Federal employees certainly deserve this modest boost in their pay, following years of pay freezes and miniscule increases that have left them worse off today than they were at the start of the decade,” AFGE National President J. David Cox Sr. said in a statement. “This pay adjustment will help employees pay their bills, reduce their debts, and cover the everyday costs facing working-class Americans.”